Each “bullet” in the list contains both a visual code and a story. Some stories are metaphor. Some are poetry. Others are summaries. And even one is a worksheet. It is my humble attempt to synthesize the collective and manifest its wisdom in the form that works best for that collective wisdom.

“The Big Bang of Collective Action” is meant to be read in whatever manner moves you. At the end of this post is a visual table of contents. Click whichever CODE catches your eye or makes you want to click.

And please know, “ The Big Bang of Collective Action” is also a tool. It is meant to be used. So please interact with it by clicking links, leaving a comment, sharing it with a friend, sketching an idea, recording a video response, and/ or writing your own post.

There is one incredibly important nuance in all of this: This comes from the Youth Media Field and it is about our desired futures. This nuance matters because it provides a focus and a vision. By focusing on something greater than Youth Media, we can find opportunities to engage others outside our sector to achieve broader goals. And by centering on the Youth Media sector, we provide a means of community building rooted in the centering of voices often marginalized by mainstream media and culture.

But who are we? What is youth media?

We are a sector of storytellers, and our power is that we have people of all ages contributing to the creation of stories rooted in the voices, perspectives, bodies, and experiences of young people. With this power, we can create narratives and forms that tell stories tethered to a more radically inclusive future.

And once those stories are told, we can engage outside sectors in making those stories physical / material. We can be a catalyst to the materialization of a paradigm where creativity and expression is central to civic health and all — people and planet — thrive.

Click here for “State of the Youth Media Field Report” by Ingrid Dahl, 2009.